Breaking the News
by purplecat41877
Summary: April and Casey return from vacation and find out some tragic news involving Splinter.


Disclaimer: Ninja Turtles are not mine but Chloe is. Please do not sue and no flames.

**Breaking the News**

April O'Neil and Casey Jones were walking through the sewers. They had gone to Hawaii a couple months ago for a vacation and they had recently returned.

They reached the turtles' lair eventually. Both of them were shocked when they saw that the lair was totally empty.

"Where could Splinter and the turtles have gone?" April asked.

"I'll call Angel and ask her if she's seen them," Casey said.

April nodded and Casey called Angel on his cell phone. Angel picked up immediately.

"Casey, what's up?" Angel asked.

"Have you seen the turtles lately?" Casey asked.

"I haven't."

"Thanks."

Casey hung up the cell phone. April got out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hi, Chloe, have you seen the turtles?" April asked.

"Actually, they're here right now," Chloe said.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

April hung up the cell phone. She decided to go get the gift she got for Splinter and visit the turtles.

"The turtles are at Chloe's grandparents' house," April said.

"Let's go see them," Casey suggested.

"I need to get Splinter's gift at my apartment first."

"No problem."

April and Casey took one final look at the empty lair. Then they walked away.

* * *

At the Calls' house, ten year old Chloe Calls and the 18 year old turtles were hanging out in the living room. Just then, the doorbell rang and Chloe went to answer it and she came back with April and Casey.

"April, Casey, it's great to see you," Leo said.

"How was Hawaii?" Raph asked.

"It was wonderful," Casey said.

"We had a great vacation," April said.

April unwrapped the gift she was holding and put it on the table. It was a ceramic bowl that had palm trees on it.

"I got this for Splinter," April explained.

"He would've loved this," Leo choked out, the floodgates opening.

"Everything all right?" Casey asked, also noticing that Mikey and Donny had their arms wrapped around each other with their faces buried in each other's shoulders and Raph had his head buried in his hands.

"Splinter died of pneumonia a couple weeks after the turtles turned eighteen," Chloe explained. "They've been taking it pretty hard."

"I'm so sorry," April said sincerely, wrapping her arms around Leo who returned the gesture. Casey gently put a hand on Raph's shoulder.

"Raph, why don't we go to the roof?" Casey suggested.

"We can go up to my room," Raph replied.

"You have your own rooms?" April asked with confusion.

"After Splinter died, I asked my grandparents if the turtles could live here and they agreed," Chloe explained. "They each have their own rooms."

Raph stood up and he and Casey walked out of the room. April and Leo released each other and so did Mikey and Donny.

"Feel any better?" April asked Leo.

"I do but I don't know how long it'll last," Leo replied.

Mikey and Donny put an arm around Leo and squeezed tightly. Leo returned the gesture grateful for the comfort.

* * *

Casey and Raph entered Raph's new room. Casey was shocked to see that it was a mess.

"My brothers and I haven't spent much time in our new rooms since Splinter died," Raph explained. "We've been sleeping in the living room a lot."

"That would explain the messy room," Casey said.

"We also haven't had any training sessions since Splinter first got pneumonia," Raph said. "We didn't know it was pneumonia at first. We thought he just had a bad cold. Donny and Leo knew that Splinter was getting worse but didn't say anything to Mikey and I until Chloe confirmed Splinter's condition."

"I guess Donny and Leo didn't want to upset you and Mikey unnecessarily," Casey said.

"Didn't you lose your father in a fire that the Purple Dragons deliberately set when you were younger?"

"I did and I was a wreck when I lost him."

"Do you ever miss him even though he's been gone for a long time?"

"I do miss him on occasion especially around the holidays."

"I really miss Splinter."

"I know I'm not as close to him as you are but I'm going to miss him, too."

Casey gathered Raph in his arms and Raph returned the gesture grateful for the comfort. They released each other several minutes later.

"We'd better get back downstairs," Raph said.

"Good thinking," Casey said.

* * *

Raph and Casey entered the living room where Donny, Leo, Mikey, Chloe, and April were chatting with each other. They decided to join in.

"Leo, why don't you run the training sessions?" April suggested.

"We can't delay them forever," Raph said.

"What if I'm not as good as Splinter was?" Leo asked.

"What if you are if not better?" Donny asked.

"You're a great leader and you'll make a great sensei," Mikey said.

"We'll start training sessions again tomorrow," Leo said.

The turtles wrapped their arms around each other and released each other a couple minutes later. Then they, along with Chloe, said goodbye to Casey and April who were getting ready to leave.

* * *

Later on, Casey and April were at April's apartment. They were sitting on the sofa snuggled up together.

"I'm going to miss Splinter," April said.

"Same here," Casey said.

"They buried him at the farmhouse."

"Best place for him to be."

"It was nice of Chloe to let the turtles live with her."

"That's something I can agree on."

Casey and April wrapped their arms around each other. They started kissing on the lips.

The End


End file.
